War of the worlds

I AM finally coming to grips with Philip Pullman. Not because of any great powers of divination on my part, but because of that guide to an author's mind - the Author's Note/Acknowledgements page. Here is what I found at the end of The Amber Spyglass (Scholastic), the last volume in the his Dark Materials trilogy. "I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read. My principle in researching for a novel is "Read like a butterfly, write like a bee", and if this story contains any honey, it is entirely because of the quality of the nectar I found in the work of better writers. But there are three debts that need acknowledgement above all the rest. One is to the essay "On the Marionette Theatre" by Heinrich von Kleist, which I first read in a translation by Idris Parry in the Times Literary Supplement in 1978. The second is to John Milton's

Paradise Lost. The third is to the works of William Blake." If you overlook the author's modest disclaimer, and go to the last two authors he cites, everything immediately becomes clear - the religiosity that invests the work, the apocalyptic vision that drives the narrative, this is nothing less than Milton and Blake for our time, and what an epic feast of the imagination it has proved to be!

The Amber Spyglass is the longest of the three books, and it is probably the best of the lot. In this book, Lord Asriel is in the final stages of preparing for his confrontation with the Authority or God or whatever you choose to call Him. On the side of the Authority are angels, the Church and all the millions of inhabitants of many worlds who serve the Supreme Being.

On Lord Asriel's side there are rebel angels, armoured bears, Gallivespians (Pullman's version of Lilliputans), friendly ghosts, and most importantly, Will, the bearer of the subtle knife and Lyra Silvertongue. The stage is set for an immense confrontation and Pullman makes it wholly gripping. The weaponry, the combatants, the tactics, all these and more are expertly drawn, and the reader is thrilled, amazed and, most importantly, completely sucked into the narrative.

The climactic scene is when the all-powerful Regent, who rules on behalf of the Authority, takes on the Supreme Commander of the rebel force, Lord Asriel himself. Mighty as the rebel commander is, he is no match for the formidable Regent when he discovers an unlikely ally, the evil Mrs Coulter, once his lover, and his enemy through much of the trilogy. For reasons that are too complicated to explain, she decides to help the beleaguered Lord Asriel, and the tide slowly turns.

As I said last week, I am quite astonished by the wealth of ideas and adult concerns that find their way into the narrative - particle physics, evolution, discourses on religion, love, the nature of evil, Original Sin, megalomania and absolute power. Indeed, there are few adult books that explore such a wide range of issues with such assurance and depth. Coupled with the author's inventiveness and immense storytelling power they make the trilogy a delight to read.

I am very pleased I happened on the books and a quick glance at the reviews that have greeted the books elsewhere in the world, shows that the Dark Materials trilogy has received a brilliant reception wherever it has been made available. Let me end by quoting some of the most fulsome praise: "Is he the best story- teller ever?" asked the Observer. The Daily Mail said, "Much has been written about this extraordinary, multi-layered masterpiece which can be read at many levels. But the main point of it surely is that it tells an incredible story - one that will harness the imaginations of children and adults now and in the future generations." This was topped by the Daily Telegraph which said simply, "Move over Tolkien and C.S Lewis. Philip Pullman has completed his extraordinary cosmological tour de force - an astonishing imaginative feat." Need anything more be said?

DAVID DAVIDAR

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